First it was Triston Casas, then Ranger Suárez, and now there’s more bad news. To put things into perspective, it all unfolded within a span of just 72 hours. On Sunday, Boston fans watched Suárez leave the mound midway through the game. So when Wilyer Abreu walked away from the plate on Tuesday with pain written all over his face, Red Sox fans were ready to hit the panic button. And given how the team has recently improved its performance, even the smallest setback is a no-no.

The Boston Red Sox were leading 4-0 entering the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox, with Abreu at the plate. The sight of him walking away after being struck near his left elbow was genuinely frightening, especially when he started bleeding.

Noah Schultz returned for his final inning of work. After opening the at-bat with two straight balls, the Chicago White Sox starter fired a 94 mph sinker. Abreu checked his swing but couldn’t get out of the way of the pitch. As his momentum carried him forward, the ball struck him on the left elbow. He immediately dropped his bat and rushed away from the plate in obvious pain. Abreu made it near the dugout while clutching his arm before dropping his helmet and sitting down.

The motion of his hand when he was running made it look like it was barely hanging from his shoulder, and the slugger couldn’t feel his arm. To make matters worse, he started bleeding from near the elbow, and the commentators noticed instant swelling. 

They discussed that batters usually rotate towards the plate umpire when trying to dodge a hit-by-pitch. However, Wilyer Abreu couldn’t rotate in the middle of his momentum. To make matters worse, he had no guard on his inner arm either. As a result, the hit had maximum impact.

The training staff and athletic trainers rushed to attend to him. They wiped off the blood, and after initial treatment, Abreu returned to the base. He even tried to steal a base in the following play. 

While he was able to continue with the game, it initially looked quite scary. Just 2 days earlier, Ranger Suárez suffered from left abductor tightness. The starter tried to jump and glove a ball off Jo Adell but immediately stopped due to severe discomfort in his groin area. He had to exit the game, and Boston is still waiting for his return. 

Red Sox keep rolling despite another tense moment

Despite their starting pitcher leaving the game midway, the Red Sox managed a 7-5 win against the Los Angeles Angels. And Suárez offered some good news on Tuesday. 

“A little better, a little bit better,” Suárez said. “I still felt it a little bit. We’ll wait to make a decision. On Thursday, I have a bullpen, and we’ll go from there to see if I can make my next start or not. We’ll see if I can manage the pain or not.”

Initially, people were worried that he might miss out on appearing in the All-Star Game, as he did in 2024. However, that might not be the case if he feels even better on Thursday. 

And the best part was that Boston didn’t let the setback affect its performance. In fact, even after the scary moment on Tuesday, Abreu contributed to the team’s 8-1 victory. The win over the AL Central leaders also reshaped the standings in their division.

The Red Sox have leaped over the Baltimore Orioles and are 0.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays. 

This is their fourth straight win, and they still have 5 games to go before the break. They are still 12.0 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays at the top of the AL East, but the fans are hopeful that Boston will enter the second half in much better condition than they have been in most of the first. 

And the way Wilyer Abreu chose to push on after a worrying moment, the fans might not be wrong to bet on their team.